PowerWall – A Home Battery by Tesla

Tesla – most famous as a leader in the electric vehicle industry – has recently announced they are extending their reach into the consumer power market. Last month the company unveiled a new line of products for use in consumers’ homes and business. The batteries promise to immediately slash a users electricity bill and, long-term, assist in the switch to fully solar-powered and off-grid homes.

The PowerWall Home Battery (or just PowerWall for short) is a rechargeable lithium ion battery designed to mount on a wall. While the overall vision is for incorporation into solar power systems, the PowerWall can also be integrated into a home’s existing power grid. The batteries charge up overnight, when energy costs are lowest, enabling a consumer to save on their power bill. A solar user could potentially even sell generated power back to the grid.

Like regular batteries, the PowerWall can be linked to create a more powerful and reliable system – up to nine can be stacked together.

“The issue with existing batteries is that they suck,” CEO Elon Musk said in a press conference. “They are expensive, unreliable and bad in every way.”

Musk has also stated that he hopes the system will be beneficial to those in emerging markets or who live in remote locations, as they will no longer need to rely as much on infrastructure that may not exist, similar to the way mobile phones are more prevalent than landlines in many developing nations and other remote areas.

The PowerWall has been opened up for pre-orders in the United States. Tesla anticipates shipping the first order late in this upcoming summer. The system will need to be installed by a trained electrician. There will initially be two models available. The 7 kWh is priced at $3,000, while the 10 kWh version will cost $3,500. Both are guaranteed for ten years and are sufficient to power most homes during peak evening hours. As stated above, multiple batteries may be installed together for homes with greater energy need, up to 90 kWh total for the 10 kWh battery and 63 kWh total for the 7 kWh battery.